In Germany!

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Hey everyone! Glad you stopped by to check in on our adventures thus far!

We've been staying with the Bonaudi family since Thursday night. Despite a delayed wait on the tarmack in London and a scare with a passenger who fell on the floor of the airplane @ 2am, our flight over went smooth. Our trip from Frankfurt to their house was a bit challenging (to say the least)... should have taken us a little over an hour to drive to the little village of Bann; just outside of Kaiserslautern, or "K-town" as the locals call it. Unfortunately, we got our route changed at the airport by the Avis rental guy ("You want an easier route?") Well, it took us twice as long!

Our new route took us thru the Rhine region outside of Manheim -- thru little villages like Frankenstein -- where we saw little baby grapevines and raps fields (bright yellow fields of flowers). No doubt where Leavenworth fashioned their town after...

Our directions that Ange printed out seemed to be of little or no use on the roadway we were on. And it was getting very dark... We managed to pull over, ask directions (for the 2nd time)to Bann, and make our arrival by 9:30pm. Man! What a long day! We had a warm, heartfelt welcome from Mark & Shanna. Got all settled in had a bite to eat, and went fast to sleep!

Over the last 2 days, we've had a few quick tours of the military bases & local villages, watched a double header softball game of Ryanne's, and spent lots of time "hanging out" with the family, playing games and catching up. What fun!!!

The food has been wonderful -- fresh grain rolls, tons of sausages, cheeses, fleischkaese, chocolates, WOW! Tonight Mark made us a great BBQ & Shanna had a fabulous spread of pickles, monzarella, flank steak, etc. We've truly been spoiled...

Tomorrow night we have planned a dinner at their favorite resturant and more hanging out! We'll rest up & take an early leave to Switzerland on Monday.

Enjoy the pictures!
~Us

** Note:

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Photos

Driving fast on the Autoban
We're not exactly up to Mark's speed (yet...) but we did go FAST!!! Wahoo!

Raps fields
These flowers have a multi-purpose -- first pressed for oil (used on agricultural equipment), then dried for filler in animal feed.

Happy trio
Andy, Mark, & Ange taking pictures of the village from the top of the hill outside of Bann.

Playing games in the backyard
We sat around the table all day long playing games, drinking lots of coffee, and laughing! (Lft to rt: Nicole, Ryanne, Shanna, Andy's head, and Zach)

Comments

[Anne]

Glad to know you made it
Ah, I miss Germany. I hope the drive to Switzerland went well. We missed you last night.

[Mark]

Bann Visit
I am representing the entire Germany Bonaudi family when I write that we had such an awesome time with Angie, Nicole, and Andy visiting us last weekend. It is always fun to have friends and family visit us from the States, but this was a needed and welcome blessing that we will forever remember. We were able to talk about old times, discuss the present, and share the excitement and fears of the future. I want to thank them for visiting and let them know that "you" are always welcome in our home. Who else wants to visit before the summer of 2009??? The offer is out there...the Germany Bonaudis